Refrigerator door release



Oct. 30, 1934. P, s MCLEAN REFRIGERATOR DOOR RELEASE 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Filed Jan. 21, 1933 Oct. 30, 1934. P. s. M LEAN REFRIGERATOR DOOR RELEASE Filed Jan. 21, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR- Patented Oct. 30, 1934 PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR noon RELEASE 1 Philip S. McLean, Bloomfield, N. 3., assignor to WestinghouseEleqtric & Manufacturing Gomj I v i r pany, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania 1 Application mu 21, 1933, Serial No. 652,840

8 Claims.

The objects of this invention are to provide a simple andpractical device for releasing the .lock of a refrigerator door and one which can be operated by simple knee pressure or the like; l, .1;2also to provide a releasing device of this character of compact inexpensive form, which can be readily applied to existing boxes and without marring or in any way spoiling the appearance of the same. 19E}; These objects and others are attained by the novel features of construction, combinations and relations of parts hereinafter disclosed and broadly covered in the claims.

' The drawings accompanying and forming part -jjjof'thespecification illustrate several of the various possible embodiments of the invention, it beingunderstood that the actual physical form may be varied to suit different conditions, within the true and intended scope of the invention.

Fig.1 is a front view of a refrigerator having a form ,of the-invention applied thereto.

Figs. 2'and3 are enlarged fragmentary'front and plan views respectively of the lock mechanism and the releasing device. Fig. 4-is a view looking in the direction of the arrow 4 in'Fig. 2 and showing'inparticular the, swinging boltreleasing lever hung directly from'the keeper'element of the lock. 1

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 are detail views of a modifi cation,Fig. 5 being a broken part sectional view similar to Fig. 4, Fig. 6 -2. top plan'and Fig. '7 a sectional detail as onjline 77 of Fig. 5. Figs. 8"and-9 ,are'broken front and side viewsof another form of the invention.

Thebox indicated at 9 in Fig. 1 maybe considered as typical, having a swinging door '-or doors 10, held closed by a lock consisting gen erally of a sliding bolt 11, cooperating with a keeper'12.. Ordinarily, such a lock is released by; hand by means of a'suitable handle 13. The

operation of such a handle often times isinconvenient, particularly with the hands full as frequently is the case in'carrying objects to the from apivot screw stud 15, in position immediately in front of the roller 16, pivoted at 26, at the tip of the locking bolt.

In the several illustrations, the releasing lever is mounted directly on the keeper, in the first form Figs. 1 to 4, by providing a stud or projection 1'7 0n theupper portion of the mounting plate18 of the keeper receiving the shouldered pivot screw stud 15, which forms the pivot for the lever; in the second form, Figs. 5 to 7, by providing the upper portion of the hollow keeper body 19 with an extension 20, receiving the pivot collar 21 on the upper end of the lever, and

holding the pivot screw 15 for the same and in the third form, Figs. 8 and 9, by settingthe pivotal portion of the lever in a slot or cavity 30 in the nose of the keeper, with the angular extension 31 of the lever reaching in under the roll on the end of the lock bolt.

In the first forms shown, the upper and lower edges of the hollow keeper are notched as indicated at 22, to let the release lever drop back clear of the bolt roller, so as not to interfere with the movement of thebolt to its maximum door holding position and so as topermit the lever being freely swungoutwardly to release the bolt.

The last mentioned features will be clear from Figs. 2 and 3, where it will be seen that the pivot for the releasing lever is set back approximately to the vertical center of the keeper base plate, so that the lever in its normal hanging position will have a tendency to rest against the inner ends of the notches 22, leaving clear space at 23, between the lever and the roll when the bolt is fully extended back of the hook. or inside cam face 24 of the keeper. Thus when the door is slammed, the bolt can project to its maximum holding position without any interference from the releasing lever. a

The lever is shown as made of rod material providing a rounded surface for engagement with the rounded surface of tthe roller, thus reducing friction between the two and enabling the one to have a camming action over the other. This camming action is favored as will be clear from Fig. 3, by the travel of the roller 16, down over the incline of the cam face 24 of the keeper and in such movement also as the roller moves down the cam face 24 and hence travels outwardly awayfrom the box, the round face of-the lever will gradually and approximately in line with the center ofthe roll, as in theillustration. I

The bolt roller on being forced back to the tip of the keeper point, as in dotted lines Fig. 3, then engages the outer incline or cam face 33, enabling, the bolt spring to react and swing the dooropen,v aided usually by expansion of the rubber 01"0171'161' packing 27, forming the scal between, the door and box face.

As a consequence, only a'rela'tively lights-force is required, just sufficient to carry the center of the roll beyond the pointofthe keeper, the door then swinging open under the combined" push of the bolt against the outer camfaceand the expansion of the door packing. As such a light force is all that is required, the lowerfend of the lever may befinished off simply with a'loopor turn 28, positioned for convenientengagement' bythe knee, elbow, or other part of the body. 1 The outward'bend provided in therod at 29, is-to give the handle end of the lever sufiicient offset from the boxto be freed the door as the latter swings open. i

By modifying to some'extent the shape and disposition of the parts, the inventionmay be adapted'to'difierent makes of boxes. Also, since the releasing device fully unlocks the door, the invention makes it practical to dispense with the usual door opening handle, simplifying and reducing the cost of the lock to thatextent. The latter feature has been illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, where the locking bolt is indicated in the form of a vertically swinging'spring pressed lever adapted to ride up overthe nose of the keeper, anddrop down behind the locking shoulderof the same and where the releasing lever constitutes the sole means'for unlatchingithe door.

The releasing of the bolt' is effected inthis in vention bya simp-lepushing movementgof the,

knee" or other'part of the body and can be effected without reaching around or standing in front of the door, thus leaving the door unimpeded and clear to swing freely open. The movement of the releasing device is direct opposition to the engaging movement of the bolt and keeper and so the release of one from the other is effected smoothly andeasily and in a line to directly. assist in the opening of the door. The releasing handle,

if desired, may be extended lower or be extended;

upwardly, as for operation bythe elbow or the like. While the lever is usually so designed as todrop back by gravityclear of the bolt movement, it will be evident that a spring may be providedto insure this bolt clearing action of the leverand such a spring is indicated by way of example at 32, in Fig. 7.

What is claimedis: t

1. A releasing device for a refrigerator door lock of the type in which a locking bolt rides up. over the inclined nose' and drops down behind an inclined shoulder of a keeper and comprising a bolt releasing lever pivotally hung from the keeperin position with one portion of the sam'e'disposed to lie beneath the bolt in its locked engagement with the keeper and a dependent ture being slotted to accommodate the bolt en-.

gaging portion of the bolt releasing lever and said portion of the bolt releasing lever being received and housed within said slotted nose portion of the keeper.

2. A releasing device for a refrigerator door lock of the type in which a movable bolt on the door carries a roller to roll over an incline and engage behind a retaining shoulder of a keeper on the box structure and comprising a bolt releasing lever pivotally hung on the box structurein position with a portion of said lever disposed in front of the bolt carried roller when the latter is engaged behind the retaining shoulder and thereby in relation by direct engagement with the W roller to roll the same in reverse direction' backvover the retaining shoulder to the aforementioned incline of the keeper and said releasing lever having a dependent swinging handle portion exposed at the face of the box structure in position for direct actuation by knee pressure or the like.

'3'. A releasing device fora refrigerator door lock of the type in which almovable boltionthe:

door rides over an incline and engages behind.

an abrupt retaining shoulder ofv a keeper on the box structure and'comprising a bolt releasing lever hung to swing in front'of the bolt. in the. 3 enga'ged'position of the latter with'the retainingshoulder and having amovement aplane'. to force the bolt back over the retaining shoulderv to the incline leading thereto, said bolt releasmg lever having a pendant handle portion exposed andprojecting over the face of the box.

in position for direct knee operation or the like. 4. A releasingdevice for a refrigerator door lock of the typein which a keeper mounted in exposed relation on the face of the box struc-' ture has a hollow to receive a cooperating mov able bolt on the door structure and comprising 2 a bolt releasing lever pivotally suspended directly from said keeper in position with a portion of the same intercepting the hollow of the keep er to thereby stand in position to directly-engage the bolt when the latter is engaged with the:

keeper and said lever terminating in a handle portion'projecti'ng from said bolt releasing portion and positioned by the exposed keeper structure in exposed relation over the face of the box structure for convenient-operation by knee pressure or the like.

5. A releasing device for a refrigerator door lock of the type in which a vmovable bolt on the door cooperates with a hollow portion of a keeper on the box structure and comprising a bolt keeper members on the door and box structures and comprising a bolt releasing lever pivotally hung from the keeper member on an axis substantiallyat right angles to the face 'of the box structure and movable in a substantially parallel plane across the face of the box structure to force backthe bolt member and. said lever hanging down'150 wardly from said point of pivotal support to within reach of the knee of a user.

8. A releasing device operable by knee pressure and comprising a lever pivotally hung in cooperative relation to a keeper and means associated with the lever for lifting a latch bolt free of the keeper, said lever extending from said pivotal support to within the reach of the knee of a user.

PHILIP S. MCLEAN. 

